China Reports Another Daily Record Of Covid Cases As Protests Intensify

China reported a fifth straight daily record of 40,347 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday, of which 3,822 were symptomatic and 36,525 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Monday.

That compares with 39,791 new cases a day earlier - 3,709 symptomatic and 36,082 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.

Excluding imported infections, China reported 40,052 new local cases, of which 3,748 were symptomatic and 36,304 were asymptomatic, up from 39,506 a day earlier.

There were no deaths, compared with one the previous day, keeping fatalities at 5,233. As of Nov. 27, mainland China had confirmed 311,624 cases with symptoms.

Infections rose as hundreds of demonstrators and police clashed in Shanghai on Sunday night as protests over China's stringent Covid restrictions spread to several cities.

Mega-cities Guangzhou and Chongqing, with thousands of cases, are still struggling to contain outbreaks while hundreds of infections were recorded in several cities across the country on Sunday.

China's capital Beijing reported 840 symptomatic and 3,048 asymptomatic cases on Sunday, compared with 747 symptomatic and 3,560 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local government data showed.

Financial hub Shanghai reported 16 symptomatic cases and 128 asymptomatic cases, compared with 11 symptomatic cases and 119 asymptomatic cases a day before, the local health authority reported.

Guangzhou, a city in the south of nearly 19 million people, reported 199 new locally transmitted symptomatic and 7,166 asymptomatic cases, compared with 146 symptomatic and 7,266 asymptomatic cases a day before, local authorities said.

Chongqing reported 238 new symptomatic locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 9,447 asymptomatic cases, compared with 194 symptomatic and 8,667 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local government authorities said.